Improvement in fruit-driers



J. ML KEELER.

FRUIT-DRIER.

No. 189,472. Patented April 10, 1877.

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JULIUS Mi. KEEEER, CF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

IMPROVEMENT IN FRUIT-DRIE'RS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 189,472, dated April10, 1877; application filed June 13,1876.

To all whom itmm tconcem:

I Be. it known that I, Jlumus M. KEELER, of SaniFnanciscoeityandcounety, State of California, have invented an Improvementin Driers andI do hereby declare the following description and accompanying drawingsare sufficient to enable any person skilled in. the; art or science towhich it most nearlyapperitains to make and use my said inventionwithout further invention or experiment.

My invention relates to certain improvements in inclined driers, such asare used for drying fruits, vegetables, meats, and other substances fromwhich it is desired to extract the moisture, or a portion of it, so asto leave the substance in a cured or desiccated condition.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective viewof my drier. Figs. 2 and3 are detail views of parts of it.

Let A represent a furnace or box, inside of which an ordinary stove isplaced. This fur nace or box also serves as a support for one end of thedrying-chamber B, while its opposite eud is supported at a higher pointupon legs or other supports 0 C, so that the chamber will stand at thedesired inclination.

The bottom of the drying-chamber B I construct in the form of a v asrepresented, and the heating-pipe E, whicliconveys the products ofcombustion and heat from the furnace .or stove A, passes upward alongthe bottom of the chamber and lies in the angle of the V- bottom, whileits opposite end passes out at the rear end of the chamber, and thenceupward into the smoke-stack F.

The Smokestack F extends upward from the rear or upper end of thechamber, and the heating-pipe E, after it passes out of the chamber, isbent upward, and its extremity passes through a hole in the stack, sothat the products of combustion, after they pass through the pipe, aredelivered into the stack. Y

The lower end of the stack communicates with the drying-chamber, so thatthe draft created in the stack by, the pipe E will serve to draw thevapor or steam which is created in the drying-chamber into the stack,and carry it away into the outside air.

The drying-chamber I provide with a gable or inverted V-shaped roof, K,which is made of sash and glazed with glass or other transparent mediumK, so that light and the rays of the sun will be admitted to thesubstance which is undergoing treatment.

The eaves or lower edges of the roof-frame are formed with a gutter, L,and the glass panes are set in the sash-frames so that their lower edgeswill not touch the lower rail of the frame, thus providing a spacebetween the glass and lower rail of the frame, through which the waterof condensation that forms on the under side of the panes can pass intothe gutter.

The V-shaped bottom could, however, be applied to a drying-chamber whichhas a flat or other shaped roof; but the transparent gable roof willgive superior results in my drier by admitting the rays of the sundirectlyinto the drying-chamber, and this will be especially valuable inconverting grapes into raisins, as I am convinced that the peculiarbloom or tinge of a properly-cured raisin can best be obtained byexposing the grapes during the curing process to the rays of the sun.

I am aware that drying-houses have heretofore been constructed withtransparent roofs, but they haveeither been flat or have been slopedonly in one direction. My dryingchamber being inclined in one direction,and the two parts of the roof being sloped in two other directions, I amable to secure the full benefit of the rays of the sun directly into thedrying-chamber during a greater part of the day, thus deriving a greaterbenefit from the solar heat and a better light.

To the under side of the ridge-pole of the roof I secure hooks l l 6,upon which bunches of grapes may be suspended, so that they will receivethe benefit of the sunlight and heat; and at intervals between the ridgeand base line of the roof, inside of the chamber, I secure wires m tothe frame-work of the roof lengthwise with the chamber, and from thesewires I suspend other hooks, l l, so that the entire space directlyunderneath the roof can be filled with suspended bunches of grapesundergoing the curing process, thus subjecting them to the combinedaction of the high temperature in the drier and the heat from the raysof the sun.

For convenience in hanging the bunches of grapes and removing them fromthe hooks I hinge one or more of the panels in which the glass issecured to the ridge-pole, so that they can be raised in order to permiteasy access to the hooks.

The drying-chamber I divide into two compartments by means of animperforated partition, 0. I then arrange tracks for supporting one lineof trays below the partition and one above, as represented, so that thevapor or steam from the lower series of trays will not come in contactwith the substance on the trays of the upper series, but will passdirectly through its own compartment to the smokestack.

The door P at the rear end of the chamber, through which the trays areremoved, stands at an angle when closed, and is hinged at its top, sothat when it is unfastened it will hang slightly open, and as it islocated directly underneath the stack, any water of condensation whichmay form on the inside of the stack will drip through the door and fallto the ground. This door can either be kept closed or open,

as it is found necessary to admit air to the bottom part of the stackfor assisting the draft, or entirely preventing any access of air atthis point. The especial benefit and use of this door will soon belearned by the experience of the operator.

I thus provide useful and valuable improvements in driers, which willproduce superior results in drying fruits and other perishable articles.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is-

The combination of the inclined chest or chamber B, having a V-shapedbottom, and opening at one end into a furnace, A, the heatradiating pipeE, imperforate partition 0, and the transparent inverted V-shaped roofK, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

JULIUS M. KEELER.

